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International Automated Systems to Own and Operate Fully-Automated
Supermarket in Southern Utah
September 7, 2000 06:02 AM Eastern Time
AMERICAN FORK, Utah, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Neldon Johnson, president
and chief executive officer of International Automated Systems, Inc. ["IAS"] IAUS
, announced today that the company has secured an approximate 6.5-acres parcel
of land in Washington County in southern Utah on which it will construct a fully
automated, U-Check self-cashiering supermarket. The new U-Check supermarket,
which is approximately 10,000 square feet larger than the average supermarket,
will be owned and operated by IAS and will serve as the model for future stores to
be constructed in the eastern United States by Schematics Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
under a previously announced contract with IAS valued at approximately $35
million.
Johnson noted that the southern Utah U-Check, which will enjoy an excellent
feeder location and will draw traffic from a number of well-established
communities, has been designed with 24 fully-automated check-out lanes. The
supermarket will also incorporate a pharmacy, bakery, deli and retail banking
facilities. The store's video department will utilize U-Check's new automated
transaction gates, enabling customers to rent videos without requiring the
intervention of a sales clerk. The company also plans to add state-of-the-art
vending machines that utilize the IAS automated fingerprint identification machine
(AFIM) technology for purchases of such regulated items as beer and cigarettes.
Additionally, a fully automated fueling station, convenience store and fast-food
restaurant are planned on the same parcel.
"We are enthusiastic about taking the IAS U-Check system 'on the road' and
pleased to make one of our first stops southern Utah, and in such an ideal location,"
said Johnson. "We are confident that the concept will be well received, and that the
southern Utah location, which is to be followed by a number of additional locations
within the next 12 months, will have our 'owned-and-operated' program off to an
excellent start."
IAS's patented automated check-out lane is the only self-cashiering system
currently available to facilitate full-size orders in a high-volume store. The U-Check
format is designed to reduce traditional labor costs by as much as 85%. Based
upon current standard supermarket volume, the system can increase a supermarket
operation's net profit margin from a slim 1.5% to a remarkable 13.5%.
U-Check Supermarket is the world's only fully self-cashiering supermarket. The
fully automated self-cashiering system developed and marketed by International
Automated Systems, Inc. provides customer cashiering, transactional security and
back-office grocery management systems, including accounting, inventory,
ordering and cost controls. U-Check is the first supermarket that is so simple to
manage that even someone outside the traditional bounds of the industry can own
one.
The U-Check system, which is scalable to meet the needs of small, medium or
large retail grocery operations, has the flexibility to toggle between automated and
attendant cashiering. According to Johnson, the IAS technology reduces customer
check-out time, while reducing personnel and operating costs. Additionally, the
turnkey back-office functions have lowered the barriers to entry, so that now even
in smaller communities where a full-service grocery presence would otherwise be
cost-prohibitive, a self-cashiering supermarket can achieve economies of scale.
Johnson estimates that there are well over 10,000 locations that are too restrictive
for a traditional chain-store, but are ideal for a U-Check Supermarket.
A fully automated retail point-of-sale transactional solution, the U-Check system
incorporates IAS's proprietary automated fingerprint identification machine (AFIM)
technology. AFIM-authorized payments are processed through the system using
personal banking data encoded on a "magstripe" card, cross-referenced to the
individual's real-time three-dimensional fingerprint. Upon processing the
transaction, by providing a positive identification and allocating funds -- which
funds are credited to the supermarket's account -- the system assigns an
identification number to the real-time fingerprint image that becomes embedded in
the transaction information. In so doing, the IAS system virtually eliminates
credit/debit card fraud and charge backs and prevents duplicate transaction
postings.
International Automated Systems, Inc. develops high-technology products designed
for increasing business efficiency, transactional security and access control. Visit
the company's web site at www.iaus.com.
NOTE: Statements contained in this release that are not strictly historical are
forward-looking within the meaning of the safe harbor clause of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are
made based upon information available as of the date of this release, and the
Company assumes no responsibility to update such forward-looking statements.
Editors and investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements invoke
risk and uncertainties that may cause the company's actual results to differ
materially from such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, demand for the company's product both
domestically and abroad, the company's ability to continue to develop its market,
general economic conditions and other factors that may be more fully described in
the company's literature and periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities and this does not
purport to be a complete analysis of the company's financial position.
SOURCE International Automated Systems, |
